The consumption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is currently 20 percent higher than normal days ahead of the Idul Fitri celebration, which will fall on June 15, state energy giant Pertamina announced on Tuesday.

The firm recorded that, as of Tuesday, LPG consumption had reached 27,800 metric tons (mt), or higher than the previous prediction at 27,000 mt per day, which was usually reached during Lebaran.

Pertamina spokesperson Adiatma Sardjito said the surge indicated that most Indonesians who were involved in mudik (exodus) had already arrived in their hometowns, causing the use of LPG to be higher than usual.

There are five provinces that recorded the highest sales growth (13 percent): Jambi, South Sumatra, Bengkulu, Lampung and Bangka Belitung, followed by Jakarta, West Java and Banten (9 percent).

However, Adiatma assured the public that the stock of LPG was still secure as the surge was in line with the company’s expectations.

“We can handle up to 17 days of consumption at that rate [27,000 mt per day], which was higher than the standard of the last 11 days of Ramadhan,” he said in a press statement on Tuesday.

The stock for 17 days is equivalent to around 363,000 mt, according to the firm’s data.

Adiatman further said Pertamina would coordinate with local administrations to monitor LPG consumption in their regions. (bbn)